When the discision to sell the house was made all the furnitue was advertised in the Trading post, that turned out to be not quick enough for the settlement date, so it put into a garage sale, prices were no where near what we paid for it, or what we considered what it was worth, that was the first shock, however it was sold, The hardest part was the accumalation over the years of sentemental stuff, Drawings my daughter made when she was 9 years old,( she is now 49), toys my son asked me to keep for Grandchildren, that kind of stuff, a box of pictures, photos, of the kids growing up etc,
 So it was all sorted into each childs pile and handed back to them, and that was the 2nd shock, most of it was destroyed after showing to the Gran kids   
All the electronics was out of date, so that was easy to get rid of, all my tools, were packed into a trailer and stored at my sons home ,
finally was laft with enought to overload a 18ft van and 4by and take off, So dont let anybody dissuade you from what you want to do, All the above happened over 10 years ago and in retrospect was an enormous release, a feeling of freedom you have to experience, I have been a nomad ever since and have worked my way through 6 vans and a camper looking for what I am after, and enjoying it immensly    
Mike


enjoy your sunrises

Thanks Mike, Must admit that now the decision is made, I keep looking at all our "STUFF" and wondering how we are going to manage to sell / get rid of it all. Yet there are some thing that I think... I just can't let that go. Time will tell, hopefully this time next year I will be closer to letting it all go. Morag

very hard indeed, what we value others think is rubbish, what we dont value others will kill for, in the end it is OUR stuff and stuff is all it is, easy to say "GET RID OF ALL YOUR STUFF" hard to do I collect clocks (current value $10,000, market value???) wife collects dolls (current value $8,000, market value???) my workshop is full of power tools of all sorts, I work in steel as well as timber (ex builder) current value who knows but I bet it will go for a song in the end it is a life change that we have to come to grips with, we will face it within two years and I will tell you here and now I am scared ****less but will aproach it with all the zeal I can muster!!!

I also went through all of this, and ended up downsizing four times before I got down to my essentials. In the end they are only 'material' things. I looked at each thing and asked how did it enhance my life? My memories I can take with me permanently in my heart. I looked at things (like my 21st mirror key for example) and asked myself what would happen to it when I am gone (deceased). Yip, probably the rubbish bin, so that is where it went. What really, really precious things I couldn't part with, that my Sons will probably value one day, (like my 50yr old pedigree, walky talky doll) are in a box in my youngest Son's garage.
It isn't an easy road, but I value other things now, and they aren't material.
Cheers,
Dianne

hi all first time post. wife and i have been travelling this great country for two months of the year for the last 10 years in 4wd. we have both been pensioned off due to injuries in the last year. we have purchased a caravan so we are a bit more comfortable. but wife wants to sell up, house included and buy a bus or somthing bigger. but i'm afraid i'm one of the old school i like the idea of some where to come back to. what worries me more than any thing is what happens if something happens to your partner' will you want to go on travelling by your self. if the answer is no then what do you do. i for one would not be in a position to buy another house i would not expect the kids to put me up. i no it's a question only one self can answer but to loose all your security i just don't no. how do you guys feel now that you have made the choice. regards al

G'day Al and welcome to you, well I would just tell the wife to just simply sit down, shut up and do as she is told and go and do what I want to do, then when I got out of hospital, if I got out of hospital, we would quietly make a decision based on the input of the two of your wishes honestly we are for selling up and going, cant wait, but we cant force that decision on you, it must be you and your wifes decision, once made, in nearly all cases, you cannot go back, but I have talked to a lot of people who have done it and they nearly all seem happy if you lose a partner, and let me tell you that's not easy I've been trying for years in many different areas but she's still here, and you or she does not wish to travel then I guess rental is the only option left, I honestly don't know, ask me in a couple of years whether we regret the decision or not

Judy reckonss youre a bit of a bugger Dave, but we all know better dont we, caring for the environment , pet owner, bet youre a lamb at heart As already is said I'm an old hand at this but Judy is still learning, and no matter how many times I say that security is a mind over matter thingy,( fortunatly we are both healhy,) that was her worry also, one of the reasons why we have the bus now, when converted it will be a very comfortable home for her when I decide to leave for that next big trip up there, her son can drive it to her favorite spot and she live in the manner she is happy with As Bub has said, there is far more than matierial things in this world we wander in dont sell your tools mate, never know when you will need them, unless you can build a crystal ball, maybe a time machine M&J enjoy sunrises

ahhh!!! judys a gem, but I try to get the dragon behind the wheel as much as possible so when I do get a little releif from the constant nagging, she can still proceed to wherever she wishes to go, when we get the motorhome I will insist that she gets a truck licensce and she will tell me whether she will or not but I would like to think that she will be cruising the highways and bi-ways long after I'm gone if that is her desire. the tools, well I'll ask the son if he wants them but I doubt that very much, he is in a printing industry dont ask me what his job title is but his income is in the the high $90,000, so hands on construction is not his style, if he wants something he orders it in and "poof" it's there, new car "poof", shed "poof" whatever his heart desires all will be delivered, doesnt have to leave his desk, we dont see him, far too busy, always working, far different to when I was growing up and starting out!!!

Hi Al and welcome from us too

Barry and I have been going through this over the last 12 months, and boy what a job it is - and are now left to ponder - why on earth do we accumulate so much stuff - which is after all as Bub says - just material possessions.

We have only been married 9 years, so I would hate to imagine what we would have otherwise accumlated.

We have taken what we want to keep to my sons place in Queensland and the rest is to be sold off, when the house is sold, but as we go we sell things off whenever we can.

had a house load of visitors over the weekend and have now sold the TV, The fridge and a TV unit.  So less when the time comes.

So much stuff we  just quite simply gave $1000's of dollars worth of books to the local library and op shop, as we just could not go through the garage sale thing where people want something for nothing.

As for the house - well once we have the caravan - we will always have somewhere to live albeit temporary maybe, but a roof over our heads. The decision to sell up made easy by the fact that we do not want to stay where we are, and will find some where nice to settle once we are on he road.

here we sit now in near empty house and loving it - so much easier to keep clean LOL

Enjoy the forums Al

-- Edited by lynnenbarry at 15:03, 2009-01-21

Hi Bubs, you are the first person I have come across who still has a Pedigree walky talky doll.  I still treasure mine, and whenever the conversation comes around to "what would you take in a case of a fire", my Suzy is first on the list.

cheers

kantiki

hey Bubs and Kantiki, put the dragon on that list!! she's got one, had it since she was a little puffer